Brennan Ching and mother, Sue Vicary, pose for a photo during his visit home to see his family in March 2013. (Courtesy photo via The Coloradoan)

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FORT COLLINS, COLO. — Around 200 people gathered at Faith Evangelical Free Church Tuesday to remember a "son, a brother, a warrior and a friend."

Lance Cpl. Brennan Ching, 20, died Aug. 15 in a car crash while traveling home to surprise his little brother on the first day of school.

He was stationed with the Marines in Las Flores, California, at the time of his death and received full military honors.

Though leave time was "scare and precious," officiant Matt Miller said Ching always used his time away from the military to serve others and visit his family. He was known for surprising his brother, Alexander Vicary, on special occasions, and playing and singing his mother to sleep when he came home.

"My hope is that we can all walk away today resolved to live better because of who he was," Miller said. "Brennan was a man of integrity. What you saw what was you got… He leaves behind a legacy."

Sarah Ching, his older sister, said in a letter shared with mourners that losing her brother was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to do… Brennan was a dedicated Marine and talked about his Marine brothers all the time."

He was interred at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Fort Collins immediately following Tuesday's memorial.